Primitive Original Matters in Architecture

This innovative collection of essays charts the rise, fall and possible futures of the word 'primitive' in architecture. The word primitive is fundamental to the discipline of architecture in the west, providing a convenient starting point for the myth of architecture's origins. With the advent of post-modernism and, in particular, post-colonialism, the word has fallen from favour in many disciplines. Despite this - curiously - architects continue to use the word, particularly to reify the practice of simplicity. Primitive includes contributions from some of today's leading architectural commentators and practitioners, including: Dalibor Vesely, Adrian Forty, David Leatherbarrow, Richard Coyne, CJ Lim and Richard Weston. Structured around five sections, Negotiating Origins; Urban Myths; Questioning Colonial Constructs; Making Marks; and Primitive Futures, the essays highlight the problems of ideas of the primitive, engage with contemporary debates in the field of post-colonialism and respond to a burgeoning interest in non-expert architecture. This controversial subject remains, for better or worse, intrinsic to the history of architectural ideas and embedded in both architectural Modernism and contemporary practice, and as such cannot be ignored. Considering a broad range of approaches, this book provides the reader with a rounded past, present and future of the word primitive in the architectural sphere.Odgers, Jo is the author of 'Primitive Original Matters in Architecture', published 2006 under ISBN 9780415385398 and ISBN 0415385393.